Police: Shoe thief was carrying drugs

A Muncie man apparently should have emptied his pockets on Wednesday before he tried to steal a pair of shoes.

Billy Eugene Stader, 23, 4616 S. Haymarket Road, was arrested late Wednesday afternoon after he allegedly enter to Kohl's, 1200 E. Princeton Ave., took off his shoes and walked out of the store wearing a new pair of white Nike tennis shoes, valued at $49.99.

Two plastic bags the arresting officer found in Stader's pants pocket might pose more serious legal problems for the Muncie resident, however. One contained marijuana, and the other contained two prescription medications, one a pain-killer and the other used to treat anxiety.

Stader told the officer he "smokes some weed when he has had a bad day."

Stader - convicted of burglary in 2009 - was being held in the Delaware County jail on Thursday on preliminary charges of theft, possession of marijuana and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.